Protect and serve

Taking care of St. Charles citizens is a family business

Fire, crime and medicine – the Weems men have St. Charles Parish covered.

Buddy Weems has been involved with the Luling Volunteer Fire Department for almost 30 years and has been a licensed emergency medical technician for 28 years, even while employed full-time at Monsanto as a senior production technician. He was also a reserve officer for the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office.

“I saw car accidents and stuff – people needed help and I wanted to be involved,” Buddy said of why he started volunteering.

Weems said he was the first person to bring automatic external defibrillators to St. Charles and that helping his fellow man has driven his work.

“I like to know that we can do the best we can volunteering for the people of the parish,” he said.

Buddy’s sons, Jeffrey and Jody, followed in his footsteps.

Jeffrey is a full-time EMT with St. Charles Hospital EMS and Jody is a deputy with the Sheriff’s Office.

The two said that growing up with a firefighter father was exciting.

“As a kid it was like your own personal hero at home,” Jeffrey said. “I always looked up to my dad.”

Jody said that his father’s stories fueled his interest in public service.

“We would always see dad run down the street to the fire trucks – as a young boy, it’s great to see fire trucks to begin with and then to see your father running out to these things was a great experience,” Jody said. “Community service was definitely instilled in us at a young age.”

Buddy said that he never thought his sons would go into the fields that he volunteered for.

“Basically you want your child to make the best career they possibly can and you never think they’re going to go into the same thing you’re doing,” Buddy said. “They both kind of followed in behind what I was doing, but they extended their careers a lot further than I ever thought about doing.”

Buddy said that Jody has accomplished a lot as a deputy and Jeffrey was recently named EMT of the year.

“My kids have done a wonderful job,” he said.

Now Jeffrey and Jody are both fathers and wonder if their children will end up protecting the parish.

“When I was a kid, seeing my dad always running out the door and always coming home with great stories about what happened was exciting – I’ll probably have the same stories for my little girls,” said Jeffrey, whose daughters are 2 years old and 3 months old.

“I would like to see my kids make a little more money,” Jody said, laughing,” but I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing them have a career like I have – I love what I do.

“It’s what you make of it. I would definitely encourage them to keep whatever dreams and goals that they want to pursue.”
Jody has four children, ages one to 11 years old.

Both men said that their father is still helping them in their careers and they bond over their shared experiences.

“It helps to talk to somebody who is familiar with the background and who can be supportive,” Jody said of his father.

“A lot of times, if I ever have problems with anything my dad’s been in it for a long time so he might have advice,” Jeffrey said. “So, if a kid or someone gets hurt, it’s human nature that it gets to you, and I’m able to talk to my dad about stuff like that because he’s been through it before.”

Barry Matherne Sr. and his son, Barry Jr., also have a family tradition in public service.

The two currently work with the Sheriff’s Office as a corporal and deputy, respectively.

The police veins run deep in the Matherne family, with dozens of relatives past and present working with the St. Charles Sheriff Office – some even acting as sheriff, like Barry Sr.’s uncle, John St. Amant, and second cousin, Greg Champagne.

Barry Sr. started working part time for the Sheriff’s Office in 2002 after retiring from Dupont Chemical in Reserve. But even while working at Dupont he volunteered with local fire departments, serving as assistant fire chief and president for the East St. Charles department, and worked as a reserve deputy for the sheriff.

In fact, Barry Sr. was one of a group of 12 firefighters who trained to become EMTs and brought the first ambulance to St. Charles Parish.

“We approached the St. Charles Parish Hospital and said ‘If you purchase an ambulance, we’ll staff it for you for nothing,’” Barry Sr. said. “It just felt good to do.”

Barry Jr. got hooked on public service from a young age by watching his dad work.

“As a kid, you felt safe no matter where you were at,” Barry Jr. said. “We didn’t have to worry about any bad guys. All I wanted to do was be just like my dad.”

Growing up, Barry Jr. spent a lot of time  playing cops and robbers or playing with a fire hat and water hose in the yard.  Now he works in the transportation department, transporting inmates to other jails, the hospital and picking up fugitives from other parishes.

“After high school, I dabbled as a security officer, but working for the Sheriff’s Office is what I always wanted to do,” Barry Jr. said.

As Barry Jr. got older, having a house full of policemen became less fun but still helped him reach his full potential.

“Can you imagine growing up in a house like that? You couldn’t get away with anything,” he said. “But I always wanted to do this – I needed to give back to the community.”

Barry Jr. said that by watching his father work, he “heard the call” to join the family tradition of helping those in need.

“Once it’s in your blood, it’s there to stay,” Barry Sr. said.

Now Barry Jr. has children of his own and he can see that they are interested in his work.

“I could see them both looking into law enforcement – they love the fact that grandpa and daddy are cops,” he said.